Residents and Homeowners

Assisted Decoration

Are you an older or disabled tenant who joined Raven when your tenancy transferred from your local council?

If so, you may qualify for our decorating scheme.

This scheme is for tenants who transferred from:

  • Reigate and Banstead Borough Council in 2002, or 
  • the London Borough of Sutton in 2005, or
  • the London Borough of Merton in 2007.

You can choose to:

  • have our in-house team decorate up to three rooms, or
  • get vouchers to spend on decorating materials for three rooms.

Can I get decorating help?

Yes, if everyone in your household (except children under 18) is:

  • over 70, or
  • aged 65–69 and getting Attendance Allowance or
  • the middle-rate care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or
  • under 65 and getting the higher or middle-rate care component of DLA, or
  • under 65 and getting the higher rate of the mobility component of DLA.

If you are under 70, we will need a copy of your Entitlement Notice  (the letter saying you are entitled to one of the benefits) when you apply.

What if I am aged 65–69 but don’t get one of the listed benefits?

You can get decorating vouchers, but we won’t be able to do the decorating for you.

When will my decorating be done?

If you ask for decorating vouchers, you can decorate your home at any time.

You can use the vouchers at certain local DIY stores. We’ll give you a list of these stores with the vouchers. You can collect the vouchers from Raven House in Redhill or we’ll deliver them to you.

If you want our team to do the work, you may have to wait. This is because we do the work area by area on a five-year programme – one area per year. We can let you know when your turn is due.

If you need the work done urgently because of exceptional circumstances, contact the Customer Services Manager on 01737 272 400. We’ll consider your request carefully.

How do I apply?

If you want vouchers, ask us for an application form at any time.

If you want us to do the work for you, you can ask for an application form nearer the time. Before we start work in an area, we write to everyone who may qualify for help with decorating, so you can apply then. We can help you complete the application form.

Alternatively, you can register for the scheme at any time by asking us to put your name and address on a waiting list – then we’ll send you an application form at the right time.

What happens next?

We check whether you qualify for decorating help. If we decide you do, we’ll contact you. If you would like us to decorate but you are not in this year’s programme, we’ll confirm that you are on the waiting list.

If you live in the area that we will be decorating this year, we’ll make an appointment with you for our team to start work.

You can choose your paint colours and lining paper from a range that we’ll show you.

We use low-odour acrylic paints, which are suitable for indoors only.

When the decorations are finished, we’ll ask you to complete a short questionnaire to tell us how we could improve our service.

What happens if you decide I do not qualify?

We will write to you to explain why. If you disagree with this decision, you may appeal by writing to the Customer Services Manager. We’ll consider your appeal carefully. We’ll let you know the result within 28 days.